Earlier, lorries with loudspeakers warned residents that the protests could be "dispersed by military force".

After the march finished, eyewitnesses told two news agencies they had seen several military trucks moving on Rangoon's streets.

LATEST PROTESTS

1. Shwedagon Pagoda. Tens of thousands of protesters, led by monks, gathered here at start of march2.Sule Pagoda. Students joined the protest, passing nearby city hall

Reuters reported that eight trucks carrying armed riot police and 11 carrying troops had moved into the city centre.

The security forces stayed in the vehicles while a few hundred people looked on, AFP said.

Tens of thousands of monks and supporters had earlier marched from Shwedagon pagoda into the commercial centre of Rangoon, where they gathered around Sule pagoda and nearby city hall, witnesses told AFP.

Protesters addressed the crowd outside city hall.

"National reconciliation is very important for us... The monks are standing up for the people," proclaimed poet Aung Way.

One monk told the Associated Press: "People do not tolerate the military government any longer."

The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok says monks - who have been spearheading the protest campaign - have been handing out pictures of Burmese independence hero Aung San, the deceased father of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

They were also carrying flags, including some bearing the image of a fighting peacock used by students during the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, witnesses told Reuters.

Students were also openly marching, says the BBC Burmese Service. In earlier marches they had simply formed a chain and clapped.

PROTESTS MOUNT

15 Aug: Junta doubles fuel prices, sparking protests

5 Sept: Troops injure several monks at a protest in Pakokku

17 Sept: The junta's failure to apologise for the injuries draws fresh protests by monks

"Some students are in the middle of exams at this time," one of the students told the BBC. "But they have left their exam rooms and come out onto the streets, joining hands with the public, fighting for the country under the guidance of the monks."

The junta, which violently repressed the 1988 protests killing some 3,000 people, finally broke its silence over the mounting protests late on Monday, saying it was ready to "take action" against the monks.

It repeated the warning on state media, ordering monks not to get involved in politics and accusing them of allowing themselves to be manipulated by the foreign media.

International reaction

At the opening of the UN General Assembly in New York, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Burma's rulers to exercise restraint in the face of the growing protests.

US President George W Bush is to use his speech - due shortly - to announce further sanctions against Burma's ruling military junta, the White House has said.

HAVE YOUR SAY

The protests will grow bigger day by day and I hope that they are not going to start killing people